Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. John 4:6-7
A few weeks ago, I heard a minister tell the story of making an unexpected stop at a Starbucks Coffee shop. It was very uncommon for him to go to Starbucks, but he had a sudden crave and because the drive through was long, he decided to just run in and get his coffee. After he paid and turned around to leave, his eye caught a young women sitting in the furthest table from the door crying. Concerned he walked over and politely asked, “Are you ok?” She replied through tears “I am fine.” He then asked if there was anything he could do for her, but she refused. Next, he asked if he could at least call someone for her and once again, she declined. One of the workers told him that they had offered the same thing and she did not want their help either. He was running out of things to ask but not feeling good about walking away with her crying, he asked her “Would it be ok if I shared your table while I drink my coffee.” She reluctantly agreed to let him sir at her table.” He sat down and quietly sipped his coffee. After several minutes of crying and sniffing, she began to tell him her story. As he listened to what she had to say, he felt a deep sense of empathy for what she was dealing with and began to tell her about Jesus and the unconditional love He had for her, It was not long until he asked her if he could pray for her and she agreed. Then he was able to get some help for her and to get her to a safe place. Just because he sat down with her.
When I heard this story, it reminded me of the John 4 when Jesus left Judea, He took what we would call the “scenic route”, it was not the most direct route, but instead He went though Samaria. The Jews considered Samaria to be a “second rate” country and did not normally have anything to do with it, in fact they would normally travel several more miles to go around this area. Somehow when we think about Jesus we tend to think of Him still being God, but He laid His deity aside and became a man to suffer all the things mankind goes through so He could resist sin and become the ultimate sacrifice for sin once and for all, His sinless life, death and resurrection would redeem mankind back into full relationship with God for anyone who would ask for forgiveness and truly repent. The fact that Jesus knew what it felt like to be a mere human is clearly seen in this passage, “Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus being wearied form His journey, sat thus by the well. It was the sixth hour” while He sent the disciples into town to buy some food. Being tired, He sat at the well and was resting from the events of the last few days that left Him weary. Looking at the Bible, I think, finally Jesus gets a few minutes alone at a comfortable place to sit so He could have some down time, no crowds to minister to and not even any disciples to teach and answer their questions, just some time to relax and maybe even spend some uninterrupted time with God. Then a woman shows up to draw water from the well. Because she chose this time of the day to draw water reveals that she is not a respected woman in town, she is an outcast. She did not draw water at the time that the other women where she could spend a few minutes to socialize and have some “girl” time but instead she came when the other women are normally at home. It makes you wonder how badly the other women treated her to cause her to delay her trip to the well until the heat of the day and she would not have to endure the bad treatment she normally got form the other women. At first glance, it is easy to think that the two people who wanted some quiet down time have their time of peace interrupted by the other. I wonder if the woman saw Jesus and came up with a game plan of just ignoring Him and she would not endure the rejection she normally got from people, after all He was a Jew and Jews did not talk to the Samaritans. She quietly approached the well determined to fulfill her task of securing water and the man sitting there had the audacity to ask her for a drink. You can almost hear the disappointment in her voice as she tries to brush Jesus’ request off. “How is it that You being a Jew, ask a drink from me a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealing with Samaritans.” She had two strikes against her, first she was a Samaritan, a half breed, a group of people the Jews treated with disdain and had nothing to do with. Then she was a woman in a man’s world. A culture that pretty much looked at women as a piece of property where they did not have many rights or privileges. That did not stop Jesus from sitting with the her and striking up a conversation, letting her know He was the water she needed to never thirst again. The woman opened up and admitted to having 5 husbands and now living with a man she was not married too. I wonder how we would see her she was really messed up and even though God forgives and loves her, would we judge her and assume she probably did not have much potential? Had we assumed that opinion, we would have missed a true blessing. (Every person is a blessing and worth sitting at the table with. Some will be changed so dramatically that they will turn their world upside down for Jesus.) This woman had made so many bad decisions or was the result of bad decisions that were out of her control that when someone cared for her and listened to what she had to say, she was changed by the truth and the love that Jesus shared with her. Being delivered from the rejection and shame, she went back into town and invited people to come and see the man who knew all she had done. What would happen if we as the church would begin to really see people? We live in a culture that we frequently ask people how they are and not really even listen to their response, much less just sit with those who are hurting and allow the Holy Spirit to open opportunities with them to share the love of Jesus. We will send missionaries to the mission field and support them, but we fail to see the mission field in our own back yard. When we submit to the Holy Spirit and listen for His nudging we will see our world change. We have the One True God who leads and guides us and we have the most powerful weapon outside of prayer. We have love and 1 Corinthians 13 promises us that Love never fails. In fact, Jesus said the world would know us by our love for one another. We should not have to announce to the world that we belong to Jesus, they should feel the love of Jesus flowing from us. I pray that this week, you will have fresh eyes to see the hurting, new ears to hear what is not being said and a heart that truly cares about those we come in contact with. Remember that Jesus went the scenic route on His journey and was it a sight to behold. Not only was the Samaritan woman healed and delivered, revival broke out in her town and many people came to know Jesus for themselves. If the steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord, will you allow the Holy Spirit take you on a scenic journey?
Cathy Nesmith